


Science Bros Redux

by BarbaraKaterina



Series: At The Rope's End [3]
Category: Captain America (Movies), Iron Man (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Gen, Not Avengers: Infinity War Part 1 (Movie) Compliant, Post-Captain America: Civil War (Movie), Science Bros, Thor Ragnarok AU, at all, bruce doesn't like wanda, civil war recap from tonys pov
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-04-28
Updated: 2018-06-13
Packaged: 2019-04-29 03:14:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 9,306
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14463777
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BarbaraKaterina/pseuds/BarbaraKaterina
Summary: In an AU where Bruce was rescued from Sakaar earlier and brought back to Earth, Tony's and his friendship has another chance.Or, how these two meeting again should have gone. It's a companion piece to the first story in this series, but it can be read without it I guess.





	1. Long Time No See

**Author's Note:**

> This will probably get new chapters every time there's an implied scene between Bruce and Tony in At The End Of A Rope that I really want to write. Because I simply love those two too much to leave their private chats out, but I want to keep to Loki's POV there.
> 
> The first chapter is a lot of recap though...

Tony was leading Bruce inside, talking a mile a minute. “Carol!” He called the moment he entered. “Carol, you here?”

“She’s in her rooms, boss,” FRIDAY replied. “I’ll call her, shall I?”

“You do that.”

Meanwhile, Vision drifted in through a wall. “Dr. Banner,” he said. “It is good to see you back.”

“Vision, right? Er, nice to meet you again.” Bruce turned to Tony. “Who...who all is here?”

“Just Vision and Carol right now. Sometimes Rhodey hangs around too, and...well. And one other person, details later, but he’s not part of the Avengers anyway. That’s it for the Compound.”

Bruce nodded, but before he could ask more, Carol came in.

“Stark, what is the- Ah. Dr. Banner, I presume?”

Tony gave a little snort, and Bruce smiled mildly. “At your service,” he replied. “And you are…?”

“Captain Danvers, I guess, but for God’s sake call me Carol.”

“Then I’m Bruce.”

They shook hands.

“Fine, fine, awesome,” Tony muttered. “Now scatter, I wanna talk to Bruce.”

Carol rolled her eyes, but she left, and so did Vision.

Tony plopped down on a sofa. “So...what happened? Where have you been?”

“Frankly...I don’t remember much,” Bruce replied. “I spent almost all of the time as the other guy.”

Tony groaned. “Come on, there must be something! You were on another planet, Bruce!”

“Yeah...but I was me for only a very short while.”

“And?” Tony prodded impatiently.

“The gravity was a little stronger, I guess? And there was a lot of people, it was like Kolkata on Kalipuja – er, that’s a big holiday. Just, really crowded, lots of people in the streets. And everyone had spaceships and small flying shuttles, so that part, I suppose, was really unlike Kolkata. Otherwise, it was an insane dictatorship from what I can gather, so, you know. Not so great.”

“Insane dictatorship? I mean, what made it so insane? Was it like, North Korea style?” Tony wondered if they had personality cults on other plants too. From what he knew about Asgard, it seemed like a safe bet.

“Not exactly...it’s run by one guy who has a huge arena and has everyone fight in it.” Bruce shifted a little nervously. “Apparently the other guy was his favourite and champion for all the time I was there. Thor had some trouble convincing him to let him go, he and his friends had to fight in the arena too and stuff. But I only heard that from him.”

“So...you were an arena fighting champion on a different planet.” Tony mock-pouted. “You always have the coolest stories.”

“Yeah? So what happened here, then, that is less cool?” The question was light, but Bruce’s look was piercing.

Tony grimaced. “Do I have to…?” It was better now than it had been half a year ago, but Tony still didn’t particularly enjoy going into the events of the clusterfuck that the media had titled ‘Avengers civil war’.

Bruce sighed. “Tony...I get if you don’t want to talk about it, but at least direct me to someone who can explain? I’m...feeling really wrong-footed right now.”

Tony gave a deep sigh of his own. He didn’t relish it, no, but he much preferred it was him who told the story. He wanted Bruce, fo all people, to have vis version of events first. “Okay, so...um. I guess should start at the beginning, right after Ultron...” He got up. “I need a drink for this. Want tone?”

“You know I don’t.”

“I dunno, could have changed on Planet Mortal Kombat.” He poured himself a tall glass, drank half of it in one go and topped it off before returning to the sofa. “So.” He said. “After Ultron, I kinda...took a break from the Avengers. I still paid for things and stuff, and I built them this place and I showed up to talk to them from time to time, but...they didn’t really trust me, and I spent a lot of time in hearings and with lawyers and the rest trying to rebuild Sokovia.”

Bruce grimaced. “Sorry I wasn’t here to deal with that alongside you.”

Tony waved his hand. “It was my fault, I just talked you into it-”

Bruce shook his head at him. “Have you managed to forget that I’m actually not a pushover teddy bear in the time I was away?”

“Could you blame me? It’s been a while.” But then Tony shook his head. “No, sorry. But it _was_ mainly my fault, and maybe Maximoff’s I guess, so even if you had been here, I wouldn’t have let you face the heat, so it makes no difference.”

Bruce frowned like he didn’t agree, but what he said was: “Maximoff’s?”

“Yeah...I was basically reacting to the charming vision she showed me when we first met her. But never mind. The point is, I didn’t exactly have time for the Avengers then. Barton retired, too, so with you and Thor gone-”

“Thor was gone?” Bruce interrupted. He really had missed a lot.

“Yep, he had some sort of vision and went to look for more,” Tony explained. “So with you two gone, it was just Romanoff and Rogers from the old team, alongside Vision, Maximoff, Rhodey and Sam Wilson – I don’t remember if you know him?”

Bruce nodded. “Yes, I met him a few times.”

“All right. So there was a new team, and like I said, I was in hearings a _lot_. In the end it went to one trial and I mostly got off, only I was on probation when ti came to new experiments and had to submit any ideas to a board for approval. I think that gave birth to the idea...”

“What idea?”

“Of the Accords.” Tony took another deep gulp of his drink. “Even after my trial, people were still worried about preventing similar things happening in the future, or minimizing risk. Talk started that we aren’t really qualified to decide the best tactical approach and our missions can have a huge number of causalities. They were right, obviously – out of the original team, only Rogers had some sort of military training, and he had no idea about modern methods. It was better in the new team, with Rhodey and Wilson, but they were still not high-up officers with that much training in planning big missions. And there was also the problem of international law – we were a US based group, and we had operated in Sokovia without asking anyone. Yeah, it was an emergency, but countries started to point out that there should be protocols for that.

“So in the end, they kind of decided to create a panel for superheroes. The idea was pretty simple – anyone who wanted to be in the superhero business had to only engage when the Accords Council, formed by the UN, gave them the green light. People who didn’t want to submit to these rules were supposed to retire from superheroing. Of course it took ages to agree on details – like what exactly constitutes superheroing, if I use the suit to rescue a cat from a tree, do I have to ask the Council first?

“They had good experience with me, I guess, so they called me in to get input from our side. But it was obvious it was gonna happen whether we wanted to or not, so I called in my teams of lawyers and tried to get it in the best possible shape. But then, of course, everything went tits up.”

Bruce was frowning now, listening attentively. “What happened?”

“First there was a disaster in Lagos, where Maximoff tried to intervene and save Rogers and ended up killing a bunch of people. That hastened the process of the Accords ratification. And then the UN meeting where the Accords were announced was blown up, and the king of Wakanda was killed. His son, who happens to have superpowers, gave chase of the killer, causing quite some destruction in the process. It was a huge mess. So instead of having time to negotiate the Accords, suddenly everyone was in a state of emergency and they wanted us all to sign right now, because there were things to deal with and they didn’t want us to deal with them before we signed. And they wanted to lock Maximoff up, so I promised to keep her here instead. But that pissed Rogers off for some reason and he said he wouldn’t sign, and then Barton came over here and talked her into blasting Vision, who was guarding her, and running away. They decided to go off into action because they knew of a base in Siberia where they suspected some Hydra super-soldiers were put on the ice. They didn’t even pretend to ask if they were allowed to go or not, in spite of, you know, Siberia being in fucking Russia and Rogers being Captain fucking America. So we were sent to block them.”

Tony closed his eyes as he got to his by now least favourite part of the story. Bruce gave him a sympathetic look, and Tony took another drink before he continued: “I thought we would talk it out, and so I...there is this kid in New York, has spidery superpowers. I knew of him, and he had some pretty lofty ideas I thought would appeal to Rogers, so I talked him into coming with us, hoping he would be convincing. It...didn’t go down like that. We fought, including the Spider kid, who is fucking fifteen. Rhodey almost died. He broke his spine and damaged his legs, and normally he wouldn’t be able to walk.”

“Normally?” Bruce immediately latched onto the crucial word.

Tony waved it aside. “I’ll get to that in a moment. So that fight happened, and most of Rogers’ team ended up locked up in a special prison for supers.” Tony hesitated for a moment, here, but he figured Bruce deserved to know how the situation stood and then make his won choice, so he continued: “Thanks to Romanoff, Rogers got away, though, and promptly departed to Siberia, where I also went. Turned out it was a trap set for us. You see, Rogers found his buddy,” and now Tony’s bitterness was seeping into his words, “and they arrived together. And you know what was waiting for us? A nice little video of my parents being murdered by Rogers’ best pal.”

“Oh, God.” Bruce stared.

“Yeah. Turns out he was brainwashed by Hydra or something. I don’t even know. The point is, Rogers knew about it and never told me. I...didn’t react well, so Rogers beat me up bad and then left.”

Bruce hesitated for a moment, then asked: “When you said you didn’t react well, you mean…?”

“Yes, I tried to kill the guy, okay? I had just watched a video of him murdering-”

“Tony! Tony, I get it, okay?” Bruce interrupted him. “I get it completely. What do you think would happen if I was faced with something like that? Only neither Steve nor his friend would have survived that.” He sighed. “So, you fought.”

“Yeah. And, two against one...you know how it is. I was left lying there in Siberia, my suit damaged and I was pretty much unable to move, when...someone showed up. I can’t tell you who without him greenlighting it, but he showed up and kept me alive until help arrived. He showed up again a while later, here, and we kinda...hit it off. He also helped me improve the prosthetics I gave Rhodey, so it’s thanks to him he can walk normally. He helps a lot, in general.”

Bruce blinked. “When you say hit it off, you mean you’re dating the guy?”

“Yeah, I guess. I mean, we’ve had one date so far, but I’m hoping we’re headed there, anyway.”

“What...what about Pepper?”

“Oh, right.” Tony sighed. Because one sordid tale clearly wasn’t enough. “That was after Ultron,” he explained. “It was the last straw for her. She sort of offered to get back after the Rogers backstabbing business, but I didn’t think pity was such a great reason for that, so...”

Bruce only nodded. “So what is it like right now?”

“With Pepper?”

“No, with the Avengers. Though you can tell me about Pepper too if you want.”

Tony shrugged. “There isn’t much to tell, really – we’re learning how to be friends again, I guess. And the Avengers...Thor showed up sometime in the summer to tell us that the guy who was actually behind the invasion – turns out Loki was just his puppet general – is coming for Earth again, and that we should get ready. So that’s what we’ve been doing. With the help of the UN, we’re getting as many superpowered people ready and trained as we can. So aside from us in the compound, there’s now a West Coast group – it’s Hope Van Dyne, an old acquaintance of mine who can shrink and grow and turn into sort of a wasp, then there is a guy who changes into a skeleton on fire, which gives him super strength, and then there’s a gal who also has fire, and flying, and is strong. A few more potential allies, some foreign groups of superheroes forming. Oh, and in New York proper, there’s Rand...” Tony paused, and his eyes widened in realization. “Oh my god you’re gonna hate him so much.

Bruce blinked. “Am I?”

“Yeah, I thought I couldn’t stand him, but I’m actually afraid you’ll hulk out after listening to him talk for five minutes...” Tony was half-serious in this, too. Rand just had that talent.

Bruce clearly noticed, and was confused and horrified at the same time. “Um-whats wrong with him?”

“Well you know the assholes who travel east and then think they discovered the wisdom of the Orient?”

“Yeah...” Bruce drawled, and the expression on his face spoke volumes. “There weren’t usually as many in Kolkata as elsewhere, but it was one of the reasons I couldn’t take Varanasi for too long. When you’re an approachable looking white guy there, there’s no shortage of other whites eager to share the meaning of life they’ve discovered by staring into the Ganga for five minutes.”

Tony chuckled at the description. “Well, Rand is like that,” he said then simply.

Bruce stared at him. “You’re joking,” he said flatly.

“Afraid not. That’s why he’s in New York. Thor gets on amazingly with him, but the rest of us...”

“Yeah, it might be better if I meet with him outside,” Bruce agreed. “Just in case.”

That made Tony think of another person whom Bruce should probably meet outside, and he shifted a little uncomfortably. “But hey, not everyone new is an asshole,” he said. “Carol is pretty great, from the people who live here, and I literally can’t wait for you to meet Shuri, you’re gonna love her.”

“Shuri?”

“Yeah, she is the superpowered Wakandan king’s sister, but more importantly she’s a complete genius. Like seriously, she is like sixteen or something and she’d give both of us a run for our money, even discountng that she has access t superior technology.”

Bruce blinked. “Superior technology to _yours_?”

“Yeah, turns out the Wakanda that’s been pretending to be a developing nation all this time is actually super technologically advanced because they have heaps of vibranium. Long story. The important part is, Shuri is awesome and I’ll definitely have you join the videochat next time she calls. Um, that is – assuming you’re staying…?”

“I thought you brought me back to fight this Thanos Thor told me about?”

“Yeah, and also because I missed you and with Thor back I finally had a way to look for you and get you here. But you know it’s up to you, Bruce. Say the word and I’ll lead Ross on a wild goose chase around the world as you chill in a little flat in...Long Island? Would Long Islam suit you?”

Bruce only smiled a little. “No, I’ll stay- at least until I find out the Accords come with a little more regulations and monitoring than you’ve said.”

“Nah. They tried for that, of course, but that was what my lawyers block with a wall so solid the Hulk wouldn’t break it. There’ll be no monitoring on my watch.”

Bruce laughed at the irony of that statement, then said: “Then I’m staying.”

Tony clapped his hands. “Awesome. I’ve had FRIDAY set up a room for you, so I guess if you want, you can get settled in or whatever, but I was thinking – lab time?”

Bruce smiled at him and nodded, and Tony felt like a missing puzzle piece was slotted into its rightful place.


	2. Relationship Advice

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tony goes to Bruce for help, and they have a talk.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Trigger warning for a mention of a suicide attempt.

As soon as Loki was occupied with Vision, Tony almost sprinted to Bruce's room. 

"Bruce, buddy," he said when the door opened, "I need some science time." 

Bruce took one look at him and said only "sure". 

They were about ten minutes into tweaking the newest armour design when Tony finally broke the silence. "So," he said, "I have no idea how to say this without sounding like an asshole. So bear with me. I might need your advice on something I suspect you’re kind of an expert on. Remember how Thor said Loki was adopted?" 

"Yes?" Bruce gave him a surprised look.

Tony hesitated, but well, it was kind of obvious, wasn’t it? "I assume you've figured out it relates to the...situation yesterday."

Bruce nodded. "I did."

"So...Turns out there’s a bunch of issues tied to that, and the long and short of it is...” Tony hesitated again. He felt like he was breaking Loki’s confidence, but he seriously needed help here. “It goes without saying this is not for general knowledge, right? Not even among the Avengers?” He assured himself.

“Of course,” Bruce confirmed immediately.

“All right, so...the thing is...he kind of...sees himself as...well, in many ways as you see the Hulk, or used to, and not because of what he did, but because of who he is. And... I have no idea what to do."

“As I saw the Hulk?” Bruce frowned as he tried to parse out what Tony was saying. “As a...tragic mistake?”

Tony huffed a bitter laugh. “Well, I guess that too, maybe, but...more like a...well, like some kind of monster.”

Bruce’s eyes flew to him immediately, a little wide. “because he was adopted?” He asked incredulously.

“Yeah...it has to do with where he was adopted from...it’s related to a war and a lot of political bullshit, and...it’s complicated.

Bruce nodded, though he still seemed astonished, and he looked away again. There was silence as he contemplated the problem, then he gave a deep sigh. "It's related, of course," he said at length. 

Now Tony was confused. "What is?"

"What he is and what he does."

Tony frowned. "Do you mean like some kind of determinism or-?”

"No,” Bruce interrupted him immediately, grimacing in distaste. Thank god. Tony really didn’t like those kinds of opinions. “I mean... Do you think I'd hate the other guy so much if he didn't have the body count he does?" Bruce asked by way of an explanation.

Tony thought about that, and about Loki. "I think this might be actually different...like the order is backwards. First he decided he was a monster, and then he got the body count.”

Bruce was frowning in incomprehension once more, and so Tony elaborated: “You're one of a kind, he isn't."

"Ah,” Bruce understood immediately. “So it's what other people do, too."

"Yeah, and what he was raised to believe they do,” Tony added.

"Lovely," Bruce commented drily.

"Isn't it just?" Tony agreed.

Bruce sighed. "I don't actually have any experience with that, so I don't know what help I can be. It sounds...well it sounds a lot like internalized racism, so maybe someone with more experience with that could help?”

Tony grimaced. “I’d feel like even more of an asshole if I walked up to Rhodey and asked him if he hated himself sometimes.”

Bruce rolled his eyes at him. “Do you think he does?”

“Not really, no.” Less than Tony did, definitely.

“Then you’d absolutely be an asshole for just assuming. No, but there are stories of people adopted into a different nationality or race who were told only the worst about their origins...I think those could maybe be helpful. Or even just women who were raised to despise their own gender, and there’s plenty of those.”

That comparison had never even occurred to Tony. “That’s actually a great idea, Bruce. Thanks. Any other tips, either from personal experience or your vast wisdom?”

Bruce rolled his eyes once more. “I can’t immediately think of anything. I mean, taking my own experience into account, what you should watch out for...he doesn't seem suicidal, so at least that's probably one thing you don't have to worry about,” bruce said it matter of factly, but Tony flinched at the idea, “but... Well. What helped me a little was being with the Avengers, knowing people who knew this about me and were still willing to talk to me. Weren't afraid of me. You helped in this a lot. And then seeing the other guy do some good too. Is that an option?"

Tony considered. "It might be complicated, but I'll think about it. Thanks, Bruce. "

"No problem. I'll try thinking too, and if anything occurs to me…"

Tony smiled at him. "You’re the best, honestly.”

Bruce only gave his modest smile in response.

They focused back on Tony’s project, and worked in mostly silence for half an hour or so. “It seems to me we’ve skipped a step,” Bruce said then.

Tony blinked and looked at the work they were doing. There didn’t seem to be anything missing.

“Not here,” Bruce interrupted his thoughts, sounding amused. “I meant with the whole Loki thing. I didn’t even get to ask you how the hell it happened you’re dating the guy I last saw being the villain of the piece, and I’m already giving you relationship advice.”

Tony snorted, trying to distract and knowing Bruce wouldn’t take him seriously. “Some advice that was. ‘He doesn’t seem suicidal so I think you’re mostly okay.’”

Bruce only shrugged. “Well, it was the main worry with me.”

“Yeah, I know.” Tony grimaced. “Sorry.”

“it’s fine, Tony, I’m not...sensitive when it comes to talking about this in particular. Also, don’t try to change the topic.”

“There was a topic?” Tony asked, faking innocence.

Bruce only rolled his eyes, and Tony caved. “I told you most of the story, really,” he said. “You were just imagining Shazad, or someone like her, instead of him.”

“It being Loki didn’t give you pause?”

“Honestly, the state I was in back then? No.”

Bruce frowned.

“Yeah, I know,” Tony admitted, “but that’s just it. I don’t like thinking about it, but back then, after he helped Rhodey...I think he could have asked me for almost anything and I’d have delivered. And he knew it, too. But he still didn’t ask for anything. I know, long game and all that, but...”

Bruce nodded. “That is a little reassuring, I admit. Still, I don’t like how big a part a kind of...well, desperation, for lack of a better word, plays in this.”

Tony gave a bitter laugh. “Trust me, neither does he.”

Once more, Bruce was confused. “What do you mean?”

Tony sighed. He supposed it would do him good to tell someone, though he didn’t exactly relish discussing it. “We’ve just been sleeping together as we hung out and discussed Thanos and he helped in various ways. Then, when I asked him for a proper date, he insisted I was making this into something it wasn’t because we both pretty much only had each other at the beginning, so it wasn’t...genuine, I suppose, whatever that means.”

Bruce looked almost impressed. “I admit, I didn’t expect that,” he said.

“Yeah, me neither,” Tony said in a very different tone.

Bruce gave him an exasperated look. “Tony, this is a good thing.”

“If you say so...” Tony trailed off dubiously.

“Yes. It is. And I assume you did go out anyway?”

Tony grinned. “I’m persuasive.”

“So no harm done, and you at least know about the danger now,” Bruce pointed out.

Tony only grumbled something noncomittal and there was silent work for another while.

“Tell me if I’m bothering you with this,” he said then, unable to keep it in. “I mean, we haven’t seen each other for over a year, and here I go burdering you with my bullshit all over again...”

Bruce rolled his eyes. “I actually asked about Loki. And if you hadn’t said anything about yesterday, I’d have asked about that, too, if only because I still feel like Loki’s mental health is a good thing to keep track of.” He paused. “Not that, you know, everyone’s mental health-”

Tony waved his hand. “Yeah yeah, I get what you’re trying to say. Not that kind of doctor, clearly.”

Bruce rolled his eyes.

“How are you doing with being back?” Tony asked after another bit of companionable silence.

“It’s...surprisingly good. I think it helps it’s basically only you around out of the...old team.”

Tony grimaced a little at that, and Bruce sent him an apologetic glance. “Sorry. But it did make it easier for me.”

Tony hesitated for a moment, but he had just poured out his own relationship issues, so what the hell. “You’re glad Romanoff is not here,” he observed.

“...yeah,” Bruce admitted. “I get why she did what she did, but...”

Tony frowned. “What she did? You mean why she ended up on Rogers’ side in this?”

Bruce shook his head. “No, I mean in Sokovia.”

Tony looked at him without comprehension.

Bruce blinked. “Oh. You don’t know. I don’t know why I thought she’d have told...well, never mind. When Ultron was attacking, I was unwilling to let the other guy out, after what happened in Johannesburg. She...pushed me down a shaft to awaken him.”

Tony dropped his screwdriver. “She what?” He asked incredulously.

Bruce grimaced. “Yeah. I...understand why, the other guy was needed and I was being overly cautious, but...she did it right after kissing me, too. It was….not very pleasant.”

“That fucking psychopathic bitch,” Tony muttered, then shot Bruce a guilty look. “Sorry.”

The man shrugged. “It’s fine, but there is no need to be so angry on my behalf. She did what needed to be done. Natasha always will. It’s just...not a quality I really want in someone I’m dating, I think. Not when I know I’m no exception to it.”

“No kidding.” Tony hesitated. “I haven’t shown you the letter, have I?”

“The letter?”

“The one Rogers sent me, I assume as an apology. Loki thinks Romanoff wrote it, and I tend to agree with him. FRIDAY, could you project it please?”

She did. The picture was grainy, the best he could pick up from her cameras after Loki had burned the letter and he had wanted to look over it again, but it was still readable.

It was Bruce’s time for outrage. Ha paced the workshop as Tony carefully watched him for any signs of turning green, muttering to himself. Tony was amused to note that much of the muttering was very similar to what Loki had said when he first read it. “Yes,” Bruce said then. “I agree with Loki, because no matter how...horrified I am by what Steve kept from you, I still don’t think writing something like this would be his style. Natasha though...if she thought it would work on you...do you think it could have?”

“If Loki wasn’t here? Honestly, I’m no sure. Could have, probably. That just makes me even more pissed.”

“Yeah,” Bruce said in understanding, and they spent the time until Loki arrived by doing science in peace, and with a new understanding between them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning: Bruce is NOT an expert. Someone not ‘seeming’ suicidal tells you nothing at all. 
> 
> Oh and also I don’t think this means Bruce is over Nat emotionally – as we see in Ragnarok, he’s not, not really – but rationally, I do think he’d consider this a pretty big fucking issue, given his experience with people who only want to use him for the Hulk.


	3. Red and Green

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tony and Bruce discuss one Wanda Maximoff.

There were no words for how much Tony didn’t want to have this conversation.

In fact, there were no words for how much he didn’t want to think about any of this, let alone having to deal with it.

But, well. As his Science Bro liked to say, he didn’t every time get what he wanted. In fact, he very rarely did. And so he made himself walk along the corridor to Bruce’s room, and knock. “Bruce?” he called.

The door opened, and a confused face was blinking up at him. There was some reason for that confusion, since Tony would have normally had FRIDAY let the man know he was coming and called him into the shared space, but this time he needed the few minutes of actually, phisically walking to see Bruce to put his thoughts into some semblance of order. And he would rather have this conversation in a private space where he wouldn’t be overhead. “Can I talk to you?” He asked.

“Sure,” Bruce replied, his confusion not abating. “Do you want to go to the workshop again?”

Tony shook his head. “Nah, it’s fine.” Distraction wouldn’t help him with this, he knew. “Hopefully mean and green won’t be inlined to join this conversation, so there’s no need to go outside either.”

Bruce’s confusion changed to wariness. “What is it this time?” He asked even as he stepped away from the door and motioned Tony inside.

“Weell,” Tony drawled, settling on the sofa with Bruce opposite to him in an armchair. “So, you remember Wanda Maximoff, right?”

“Yes,” Bruce replied grimly. “Not exactly easy to forget after my experience with her. To be honest, I still can’t believe you guys simply let her join the Avengers. Letting her help against Ultron was one thing, but...”

Tony privately thought that it was a good thing he wasn’t personally invested in this whole ‘getting Maximoff to join again’ business, because this did not look like a promising start. “Don’t look at me!” he said. “It was mostly Rogers and Barton. I think they felt sorry for her after her brother died.” He had had, too, at the time, to be entirely honest. Other experiences with her had somewhat numbed the feeling.

Bruce, it seemed, was no affected by it at all. “Pity no one felt sorry for the people the Hulk killed and injured in Jo’burg,” he said. “I’m sure it must have really improved their families’ trust in the Avengers when she became a member.”

Tony grimaced. He remembered very long, shouted arguments about that in the UN. “Yeah, it...might have been one of the reasons for the Accords,” he admitted. “But, anyway. Back on track.” He wondered where to start. “Seems Vision got friendly with her,” he said in the end. It was the crucial piece of context for this, after all.

“Seems?” Bruce asked with a raised eyebrow.

Tony shrugged. “Well, I knew they were on good terms before, but...apparently he now asked Loki to ask me to let her come back here.”

Bruce just looked at him for a moment. “And you’re actually considering it,” he said then, even more grim.

Tony sighed. “I wouldn’t be, normally. There are probably only about five people in the whole world who I less want living here than her.”

Bruce frowned at him. “They why _are_ you thinking about it?”

Tony grimaced. “Well, I figure...if all of you are forced to deal with Loki being here just because we’re together and he’s an asset, I can’t really say no to Vision asking for the same for Maximoff, who at least actually was on the same side as us at one point and you all see her as much less undesirable company.”

At that, Bruce snorted. “Let’s see then,” he said, his tone heavy with sarcasm. “Loki set the other guy on a hellicarrier full of trained spies and soldiers in a calculated move to remove his enemies in one swoop. Did it feel great? No. I paid him back by pounding him into the floor, and he was then dragged off to prison, for all he didn’t stay there long. I also later learned he was coerced and tortured.” He shrugged, seemingly wishing to indicate ‘not awesome, but understandable’, which seemed to be the general feeling towards Loki in the Compound these days. 

“Now let’s look at Maximoff,” Bruce continued. “She set the other guy on an entire damn city full of civilians, in what can only be described as a terrorist attack since the only point of it was to spread fear, and as far as I know she never paid for it in any way, and no one forced her to do it.” This time his shrug was more sharp and aggressive. “So while I wasn’t thrilled by Loki’s presence – I guess I’m still not, except being thrilled for you – it’s actually less of a problem.”

Tony stared just a little. He was so used to him being the only one to have any real issues with Maximoff, he didn’t really think about what Bruce’s view would be. He knew he wouldn’t be thrilled – he remembered Johannesburg well enough for that – but now the depth of the man’s dislike really shone through. ‘I could choke the life out of you without changing a shade’, he remembered suddenly. Other things, more important to him, had overshadowed this memory from the entire Ultron debacle, but now he could recall the expression on Bruce’s face clear as day. He felt relief, of all things. It was good, not being alone in his worries and antipathies. “I guess I never really thought about comparing it like that, from your point of view,” he said with a grimace that tried to somehow combine apology and understanding. Going by his expression, bruce semed to understand. “But anyway, that’s why I went to you first,” Tony continued. “You say no and that’s it, Bruce, she’s not setting foot in here.”

“Tony...” Bruce sighed. “I’m not the only one living here. I don’t want the entire force of the decision on me.”

“Hey, no,” Tony immediately reassured, “it’s not like that. Even if you say yes, and everyone else says yes, I’ll still have to think about it. I might still say no. But you all get a veto right, obviously, and you get right of first refusal because you have the most reason, out of everyone here, to object to her presence.”

Bruce slowly nodded, seeming to accept that explanation, and there was silence as he thought and Tony shifted in his seat, impatient but wanting to give his friend the time he needed. He had been so distracted before he didn’t take his phone with him, and no he had nothing to occupy his mind with. That was always dangerous, and especially when he was contemplating Maximoff. “Should I leave you to it and come back in a few hours?” He asked when it went on for some minutes.

Bruce looked up, seemign a little startled by those words. “No, I don¨t think so,” he said then. “I just need to clarify a few points. The only reason you’re even considering this is because Vision asked, do I get it right?”

Tony figued he owed Bruce honesty in this, so he said: “Well, that and also she’s an asset against Thanos.”

Bruce waved his hand. At Tony’s frown, he explained: “There’s a whole lot of people around the world getting ready to cooperate on Thanos. That wouldn’t be a reason to bring her here. That part is just for Vision, right?”

“...yeah,” Tony admitted. He would never even think of it otherwise.

Bruce nodded. “So, I have two concerns. The first is a...security one, I guess. But I suppose that’s only because I was barely given enough time to get used to the idea Maximoff’s no longer one of the bad guys before I left. I assume there were no doubts during the time since Ultron?”

“None.” Whatever his issues with Maximoff, Tony had to admit that much.

“And...” Bruce hesitated, semeing uncomfortable, but then asked: “How much of a part did she play during the Civil War mess?”

Tony exhaled. “Not that big, if I’m being honest. I mean she fought on Rogers’ side, as all of them did, but...she wasn’t one of the main proponents of not signing or anything. Vision is right in that much. She mostly followed the others’ lead. Rogers’ lead. What she did was break herself out of house arrest, after Barton prompted her to. And as long as Vision doesn’t mind that, given it was him she attacked, I’m not sure we have any right to complain too much.”

Bruce started at him. “She attacked him, and he still fights for her return?”

“Loki threw me out of a window,” Tony pointed out.

Bruce shook his head. “That’s different. You were enemies at the time.” He shrugged, then. “But I guess that’s his own business, even though I can’t...” He shook his head, and it was clear enough he was thinking of Romanoff pushing him down that shaft. Yes, Tony had, in fact, some trouble understanding Vision’s position as well. What Maximoff did to him seemed a bit too much like a betrayal for Tony to imagine evr tolerating it in a friend. But Bruce was right. It was none of their business. 

The scientist seemed to be contemplating what Tony had said. “I suppose this allays the security concerns somewhat, whatever it makes me think about Vision,” he said at length. “But it does make me wonder how willing she’s gonna be to follow the Accords.”

Tony agave a short laugh with very little amusement in it. “Yeah, I have my doubts about that too, but...if I wanted to be optimistic, I’d say that the house arrest was a bit improvised at the time – mostly to spare her something worse – and had no official sanctioning behind it, so...legally speaking, she was even kinda within her rights? Maybe? At least it would take lawyers a while to unpack.”

“And do you want to be optimistic?” Bruce asked him archly.

“I want to be realistic,” Tony retorted.

“What does that mean, in these circumstances?”

Tony shrugged. “I don’t know what she’s gonna do regarding the Accords, if she’s gonna respect them, so I’m inclined to give her a chance and see. Potentially, give her plenty of rope. You know how it goes.”

Bruce sighed. “All right. I guess that makes sense.” He paused. “As for my other concern, I guess it’s more...personal. I’ve just been here two months. I don’t know Vision well enough to want to make these kinds of concessions for him. But that’s not reason enough to refuse, because the rest of you do. My concern is...I have the problem of mostly remembering Maximoff as an enemy. I haven’t known her in the time since.”

“You worried about the Jolly Green?” That surprised Tony. Sure, Bruce tended to be overcautious, but he still didn’t think he would consider this dangerous. After all, he hadn’t lashed out at Wanda even during the Ultron crisis, when his nerves were truly frayed and his control all but gone.

“No,” Bruce replied, confirming Tony’s expectations but makign him wonder about the reason for the concern in the same breath. “My problem is simply that I don’t trust her around me, because of my experience with her. I know that if I refused, it would be based on that experience, from two years ago. And I’m actually aware that’s not fair, as much as I want to do it.”

“So?” Tony prompted when nothing more was forthcoming. “What’s the verdict, then?”

“I thought you said you wouldn’t put it all on me,” Bruce replied with a small smile.

“If it was, though? Up to you?” Tony really wanted to know.

Bruce gave another sigh. “If you insist on hearing my opinion...I’d have to say all right, let her move in here – and see how it goes. If it was up to me, I’d give her a chance, or maybe give myself a chance to see how she changed. You know, observe the new Maximoff. And if I was satisfied she was different enough from the old one...well then, she can stay. Why not?”

Tony smiled in relief. That was, he had to admit, a good solution. It was acceptable even to him. It assuaged his nervousness by not being permanent, by having a sort of trial period included, but at the same time it wasn’t rejecting Vision’s reasonable request outright.

Tony got up from the sofa to walk to Bruce and clasp his shoulder. “Thanks, Bruce. I appreciate it, and I’m sure Vision will too, if I decide to give it a go.” Then he shifted a little awkwardly. 

There was one question in the back of his mind. It had been there ever since Bruce first came, but he had been pushing it back for all he was worth. Now, with the topic of their discussion it came to the forefront of his mind, and suddenly he felt like he had to know. “You actually reminded me...” He said. “We never really discussed the Accords. I know you signed, but it’s not like you had much of a choice, in the situation you arrived into, so...”

Bruce sighed, and took off his glasses to clean them. “Don’t get me wrong, I don’t love them,” he said, and Tony felt his stomach clench. “I only have the worst experience with government oversight, and finding out Ross was involved...”

“Believe me, I did my best to get him out of it,” Tony rushed to assure him, as he had done already when he had first introduced the documents to Bruce, “but not even I can change the Secretary of State on a whim, so...”

“Yes, I know,” Bruce said, patting Tony’s hand on his shoulder reassuringly. “So anyway, I was kind of pissed – not at you, but just at the existence of the Accord sin general – but...I’m not a child. Precisely because I have experience with government, I know how much worse it could have been, and it’s very obvious to me how hard you must have fought to have it as it is, hardly limiting us at all. And I also know perfectly well why it was necessary to have them in the first place.” He paused. “If it hadn’t been for the danger of Thanos, I think I’d have given a hard thought to retiring from superheroing when faced with the need to sign something Ross had a hand in. But I’d never go against the idea in itself. I think there’s no one who knows better than me that we do need some oversight.”

Tony exhaled, and a huge weight seemed to fall off his chest, one he hadn’t even been aware had been sitting there. “You are literally the best,” he said then, with a tired smile.

Bruce gave him one in return. “Don’t tell Loki,” he said.

“Oh no,” Tony replied with a grin, “there’s no competition. He’s the worst.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ramadan mubarak to everyone keeping it!
> 
> I think Bruce would be much less cool with Wanda’s presence if it was out of immediately dangerous situation when they needed her help. He is the one who has most reasons to hate her, after all.


	4. Gratitude

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bruce is grateful, and Tony is, too.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TW for discussion of suicide. Basically everything after the break.

The weeks with Maximoff in the compound, to put it plainly, sucked. Tony frequently escaped into the workshop, where he told FRIDAY Maximoff was never allowed under any circumstances, to bitch with Bruce.

They were both irritated by Maximoff taking the whole situation for granted, acting like she just came home and like she had a claim on their friendship.

Well, no, not really theirs. She never tried to lay any claim on Tony’s friendship, and she realized soon enough it was not going to work with Bruce, but she was still trying with Rhodey, and it was honestly painful to watch. The honeybunch was too polite to tell her to fuck off, and made do with tense rebuffs she never saw as clear enough.

The only two people beside Vision who talked to her without any issues were Carol and Jessica – or so Tony thought.

“Jess can’t stand her,” Bruce told him on one such escape trip to the workshop. “Carol gets on fine with her, I think, but honestly Carol gets on fine with everyone, so...”

Tony nodded. “What’s Jessica’s problem, then?”

“Wanda’s arrogance, actually.”

Tony snorted. “Well, she’s gotta have a number of issues living here, then.”

Bruce laughed a little. “It’s not like that. I said the same thing, actually – in good humour, I swear – and she quoted Pride and Prejudice at me.”

“What,” and Tony put on a fake British accent, “’would you consider pride a fault or a virtue’?”

Bruce gave him an amused smile and a surprised look. “How the hell do you know Pride and Prejudice this well?”

“Come on, it was the thing to take women to back then! Also, it’s actually a great movie.”

Bruce shrugged. “I wouldn’t know. Anyway, that’s not what she said. She said something along the lines of...that she can forgive arrogance when it’s actually based on something, you know?”

Tony racked his brains for a quote like that. “Huh. Must be from the book,” he decided at length. “And, anyway, Maximoff has her powers, so...”

Bruce shook his head. “But that’s like what you said to Rogers. It’s hardly her merit, it’s a laboratory experiment.”

“Me being a genius is not my merit either,” Tony pointed out.

“No, but the things you do with it? They are.”

Tony wanted to argue some more, but he felt it could be read as fishing for compliments, and if there was one thing Tony Stark never needed to do, it was fish for compliments. People threw them at him all on their own. So instead he returned to the original topic: “So Jessica thinks Maximoff is arrogant and she has nothing to base it on, and that’s her issue?”

“Well, that she’s more arrogant than she has any reason to be, anyway. Jess says this constant belief that she is right reminds her of herself when she was young. She always makes a really weird face when she says that, though, so I’m beginning to wonder if she was a Westbro Baptist Church member or something.”

Tony snorted. “The self-righteousness is probably caught from Rogers,” he muttered, “though yeah, there were probably traces even before. So, you agree with Jessica?”

Bruce shrugged. “Honestly, I don’t really care if she’s arrogant or not. The self-righteousness, though, bothers me, specifically because...well, I can see no hints of regretting anything in her past, beside maybe being on Ultron’s side for a moment, and that bothers me.”

“Yeah, no shit,” Tony muttered.

“I might just ask her one day,” Bruce concluded. “I just can’t take her being here indefinitely and the question ‘is she even sorry’ rattling in my head constantly. Best confront it head on, I suppose.”

“You do that,” Tony encouraged. He himself would rather cut out his tongue than voluntarily start a conversation like that with Maximoff – he knew from experience how pointless they were – but to each his own, he supposed.

-

After Bruce did ask the question, and the whirlwind of events that followed, it took Tony some days to be able to get him alone once more. 

“Are you really all right?” Was the first thing he asked.

Bruce looked confused for a moment. “You mean because of Maximoff?” He realized then. “Yeah, that’s fine. I’m glad she’s gone, but that’s about the sum of my feelings on the topic. Oh, and also...I’m really grateful to Loki.”

Tony exhaled. “Yeah, so am I. If he hadn’t been there...” Tony would have blamed himself, he knew. Or rather, he would have blamed himself even more.

Bruce only nodded. “My reservations there are mostly gone, really, if that means anything to you.”

“It means a lot, Bruce,” Tony said seriously, then shook off the moment to add: “Though if I knew the only thing required to get your approval was to do a favour for you...”

Bruce rolled his eyes. “Like you need my approval. And anyway, I think the point is that it wasn’t a favour. I mean, it wasn’t anything prepared. He had a split second to react, and he reacted in a way that helped me, didn’t harm anyone, and didn’t contribute to the Avengers splintering even further than was necessary at that point.”

“Unless you think he encouraged us to accept her back exactly with that idea in mind,” Tony pointed out. It had occurred to him a few times. He always tried to push it back, but his traitorous mind wouldn’t leave him alone. At least with what happened recently, and Odin in the compound now, there was a kind of reassurance present. Loki bringing him here meant he had to trust Tony at least a little. Unless it was all a ploy, of course, Odin and Loki’s vulnerability and everything, but most days even his trust issues thought that was a bit far-fetched.

Bruce, meanwhile, gave him a troubled look. “Is that what you think?”

“Not really,” Tony said with a falsely casual shrug. “But, you know. I have to wonder sometimes.”

“About?”

“Well...why is he here? As much as he is, I mean?”

Bruce frowned. “You don’t think it’s just for you?”

Tony sighed, sinking deeper into Bruce’s couch. “I’d like to believe that, but...come on. He’s a god-like figure. I don’t exactly suffer from an inferiority complex, but what do I have to offer him, exactly?”

“Good company?” Bruce suggested with a mix of exasperation, frustration and amusement.

“I mean, you have a point,” Tony replied, “from what I’ve heard of Asgard, there’s not much of that to go around, but still. It’s a bit extreme.”

“Are you...I don¨t know anything about this, mind you,” and Bruce looked uncomfortable as all hell, “but are you having trouble? When I see you together yu always seem fine, but...”

“No! No trouble. At least...not of that sort.” He hesitated, but he had already discussed this once with Bruce. He knew his friend could be helpful. The main issue was that he felt like he would be betraying Loki, but he also felt like he really needed to talk to someone about this if he didn’t want to go insane, so...

“Actually,” he muttered, not looking at Bruce, “you remember how we talked about Loki’s...issues?”

“Yes? Has anything new come up?”

“Not new, as such, but...” Tony closed his eyes, unable to look at Bruce as he said this. “Remember how you said that at least he didn’t seem suicidal? Well...”

There was silence. When he opened his eyes again, the look Bruce was giving him was suddenly very intent. “Did he attempt anything?”

“No!” Tony assured immediately. “I mean, not now. That’s why I said it wasn’t new. But...years ago. Before the invasion. In fact, it was right before he fell into Thanos’ clutches.”

This time, _Bruce_ closed his eyes, looking suddenly very tired. “How did he ever pick himself up?” He asked after a moment.

Tony sunk lower on the couch with another exhale. “Honestly, I have no idea. None. I mean, after the invasion, Thor carted him right off to prison, where Odin told him he would spend the rest of his life. I never heard a mention of a trial or something, and Thor didn’t know about the coercion, so I get the impression no one much asked Loki for his side of things. Except maybe his mother, who seems to have visited him in prison even though Odin forbade it. I think he has her to thank, mostly, for not going insane in there.”

Bruce nodded. “I imagine it would have helped, but still. It’s...fairly incredible. I remember how I felt after my failed attempt, and had an insane alien terrorist picked me up then...hell, if you hadn’t sent Thor for me, I’d have spent the rest of my life on Sakaar as the other guy, and I wasn’t in half as bad a place when I came there. Your boyfriend’s gotta have the strongest will in the universe, Tony.”

“He’s something all right,” Tony said with a small smile.

“So, is it still an issue?” Bruce asked then, more seriously.

“He swears it isn’t. I believe him – the circumstances were pretty extreme – but at the same time...what if something extreme happens again? I'll do my best to prevent it, but what if I can’t, Bruce? Do these things get a relapse?” Tony tried to keep the desperation out of his voice, but he knew he was only partly successful.

Bruce sighed. “In my experience, it’s more that they never entirely leave. They might have in his case – we don’t even known how similarly his brain actually works – but I think that most commonly, it just...slips into the background. You wouldn’t really actively try any more, you are not thinking about it constantly, but...it’s still there somewhere.”

This was not helping. “What do I _do_ , then?” Tony asked.

Bruce sighed again. “You can’t tie him to your bed. Especially in his case, it wouldn’t work. Just...be there for him every time he needs you. Maybe...can you contact him when he’s not on Earth?”

Tony shook his head. 

“Then try to ask him for a way it could be done. I don’t know how much of a support system he has, but given that the universe at large seems to believe he’s dead...probably not much. So he shouldn’t go that long without you.”

Tony consider whether he could reassure Bruce on this point, but Loki didn’t put a geas on it, so it probably wasn’t considered a crucial piece of information, so he said: “That’s not actually an issue...there’s some time dilation – quite a bit of it, actually – so in his time, he’s always only gone a day when he goes.”

Bruce’s eyes gleamed. “Later, I need to hear everything about that,” he said demandingly. “But that’s good, that’s probably fine. Though maybe you should still ask for that communication device, in case, you know, you needed him.”

Tony didn’t say anything. He knew he would never bother Loki while he was on Asgard and busy with Odin’s duties.

“I don’t think there’s more, really,” Bruce added. “Just be there for him when he needs you, and make sure to let him know these things are nothing to be ashamed off.”

Tony grimaced. “I...might have already messed that up.”

At that, Bruce gave him the most unfriendly look he had ever seen from the man. “What did you do?”

Tony had to fight with himself not to close his eyes again. “I...was pretty thrown when he told me, so I...well, I made a pretty big deal out of it.”

Bruce sighed. “That’s...not ideal, but understandable.” He considered. “Does he know you told me?”

“No. I probably shouldn’t have – he’s likely to be pissed if he finds out – but I just...I’m freaked out, and I needed to talk to someone.”

Bruce only nodded. “Just...if you ever decide to admit you told me, I could – after he cools off, probably – talk to him. You know, as...someone who understands.”

Tony gave him a surprised look. “You’d...be willing to do that?”

“Yeah. He helped me out, didn’t he?”

That was leagues different, but Tony didn’t say so. He just smiled a bright smile at Bruce and said: “I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: you are literally the best.”

**Author's Note:**

> [Come chat about Infinity War on my tumbr!](http://barbarakaterina.tumblr.com)


End file.
